RICHARD WAGNER/THE METROPOLITAN OPERA ORCHESTRA AND CHORUS - JAMES LEVINE Der Ring Des Nibelungen

Deutsche Grammophon 4769803 (1988-1991/2006)

Normally I wait until listening to an album in its entirety at least once before mentioning it here, but I couldn't wait to tell you about this new budget-priced recording of Richard Wagner's famed opera cycle. Also, it's pretty bloody long... I'm just starting disc 6 of this 14-CD behemoth. The set includes all four operas (Das Rheingold, Die Walkure, Siegfried, and Gotterdammerung) in their entirety and is being released in Canada in conjunction with the inaugural production of the cycle at Canada's new opera house The Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts. The music is packaged attractively in a (relatively) slim box and retails for around forty dollars. That's right, forty dollars. Canadian. For fourteen CD's. Now anyone can own a top-notch recording of Wagner's masterpiece (featuring soloists such as Kathleen Battle, Jessye Norman, James Morris, and Christa Ludwig) without draining their bank account. So, as the saying goes, run, don't walk.